So Much Life
by adama-roslinlove
Summary: Sharon has recovered from her cancer and now she can start her life over again. She can finally be happy in work, family, and in life. This is the sequel to My Son so if you haven't read it yet we would suggest you read it first. Cowritten with marymcsmile. Chapter 8 is now up!
1. Chapter 1

**Here is the first chapter of the sequel to My Son that we promised you all. We were overwhelmed with how many people enjoyed My Son that we decided to write a sequel. I really hope you enjoy this first chapter! If you have not read My Son, we would strongly suggest that you read it before you read this one. Thanks again for your support!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own it, but we wish we did. **

"Come on Rusty! I don't want to be late on my first day back," Sharon called through the bathroom door. "Will you hurry up, please?"

"Almost done," he calls back from the other side of the door. Two seconds later, the door opens and he pops his head out, his hair still dripping wet. "I will need like, uh, five more minutes. Tops! I promise," he tells her with a mischievous smile on his face.

"If I wouldn't know any better, I would think you are taking your time and trying to make me late on purpose."

Rusty frowns and then shakes his head. "Now that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it be, mom. If at all, I would only make myself late for school."

Just when Sharon is about to make a comment, he closes the door to the bathroom again, not giving her a chance to reply. Instead, Sharon moans slightly and makes her way to the kitchen. She puts some water on the stove to boil for her morning tea and gets a couple of cereal boxes, as well as two bowls from the cupboards. She places the cereal boxes and the bowls on the dining room table and then makes her way back toward the bathroom. Just when she reaches the door and wants to knock again, the door opens and Rusty hurries out and into his room.

"Breakfast is all set," Sharon calls after him. "Just start without me."

"Okay!" Rusty calls from his bedroom as Sharon walks into her room to get in the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Sharon is all dressed and ready for the day. She walks out of her bedroom, over to the dining room area and sits down at the table next to Rusty. She helps herself to some cereal and quickly eats it. Another fifteen minutes later they are out of the door and on their way down to the parking garage. When Sharon and Rusty sit down in the car, Sharon takes a deep breath before she starts the engine.

"Are you feeling alright, mom?"

Sharon takes another deep breath and then says, "Of course I am alright, Rusty. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because you have been gone for eight weeks, which is quite a long time, and because you have gone through a lot. You have had surgery, recovered from cancer and experienced some pretty traumatic events. But trust me mom, they all missed you and they will be happy to have their Wicked Witch back." He smirks. A bit startled by his comment, Sharon turns to Rusty and sees the mischievous smile on his face. She can't help but let out a little small giggle.

"I guess you are right, Rusty. There is no need to worry about anything. I trust that Lieutenant Provenza did a formidable job. He might actually be quite happy to give the job back to me. He probably didn't realize before how much paperwork he would have to deal with. And we all know how fond he is of paperwork."

"That we do indeed!" Rusty replies.

"I am sure you know, but I just want to tell you again how grateful I am for all your help. You have always been there for me, supported me, and even stood up for me against your real mom. I couldn't be any more proud of you and I am happy to call you my son. I love you very much."

Rusty takes Sharon's hand, which is resting on the steering wheel, then leans over and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too!"

Sharon puts her free hand over Rusty's and smiles at him gratefully. Then she starts the engine, making her way out of the parking garage and into the morning-rush-hour of Los Angeles.

"Oh, I have certainly not missed the traffic on my way to work in those eight weeks. It is usually bad, but this morning, it seems to be extra bad. It's like the world has turned against me, everyone and everything is trying to make me late this morning. First, Bill calls, which is why I couldn't get in the shower earlier than I did, then you seem to take your time getting ready and now the traffic."

"Mom, you are clearly imagining things. No one would ever dare keep Darth Raydor away from work any longer than need be."

About fifty minutes later, they finally arrive at the LAPD headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles.

"Alright, here we are. You really don't have to come upstairs with me. I think I can manage alone from here on."

"I know you can," Rusty counters, "But I told you before, I need one of my papers for school that Buzz has been proof-reading."

"Alright, then let's get going so you won't be late for school."

They get out of the car and make their way up to the Major Crimes department. When they step out of the elevator, Sharon is surprised to find the hallways empty. She wonders if everyone was called away to a crime scene and forgot that she was starting work again today. She looks at Rusty, who just shrugs his shoulders.

"This is strange. I wonder where everyone has gone off to."

"Don't look at me." Rusty replies.

Sharon narrows her eyes while looking at Rusty and then says, on her way to the murder room, "This morning is getting stranger and stranger every minute."

Rusty follows her and together they enter the Major Crimes murder room. Even though she kind of expected it, after finding the hallways empty, it still makes Sharon suspicious that the entire murder room is empty too. Just as she is about to turn to Rusty to say something, the whole team appears out of nowhere and shouts, "SURPRISE!"

"Welcome back, Captain," says Detective Sykes.

"It's so good to have you back, Captain," Lieutenant Tao states happily.

Sharon can't believe what she is experiencing. She is completely dumbstruck. She expected her team to say something to her, but not to surprise her like that to welcome her back to work. Wondering if Rusty knew anything about this, she turns to him. Seeing him grin like a little kid in a candy store tells her he did in fact know what was going to happen.

"Sorry, mom, but you were right. I did take my time getting ready to make you late this morning." Again, he had this mischievous smile on his face.

"And I called to distract you so you couldn't get ready," says a rough man's voice that she has gotten to know so well and to love so dearly. Sharon turns around on her heels and gives Bill a surprised look.

"Bill! You were in on this as well?"

"I certainly was, darling. But that is not the only reason I called. It gave me a good reason to call you so early in the morning and hear your sleepy and husky voice, which I have grown so fond of. But the idea for the surprise came from none other than Lieutenant Provenza." He smiles at her.

"And I…" starts the usually grumpy Lieutenant, "…may have been responsible for the bad traffic you have experienced this morning, Captain."

Again Sharon turns on her heel, narrowing her eyes in suspicions. "And how exactly did you manage to do that, Lieutenant? What on earth did you do to cause such a traffic jam?"

"Well, I called in a few favors and had two patrol cars go in walking speed for about two miles to slow the traffic down."

Everyone around them but Sharon and Provenza start laughing. Sharon just stares at Provenza in disbelief.

"Excuse me? You did what?"

"We needed a little more time and the kid said he couldn't slow you down any more or you would start to get suspicious."

"I did my best," Rusty jumps in, "but you can't keep Darth Raydor away from work for too long. She has been very eager to come here this morning."

"And we have been very eager to have you back here, Captain. After everything you have gone through, we thought you would deserve a little surprise. And yes, as you probably assumed correctly, I am also very eager to give your office back to you. The amount of paperwork you deal with on a daily basis is insane. I have never been very fond of it."

"Nooo, Lieutenant, you don't like paperwork? That thought would never have crossed my mind, seeing how EAGER you were to get my job."

Now everyone is laughing except Provenza who just rolls his eyes and throws up his hands in defeat. Just when he is turning around to walk away, a hand touches him on his arm and holds him back.

"Lieutenant!" He turns around. "Thank you so much for arranging this. It means a great deal to me."

While Sharon was distracted talking to Rusty, Bill, and Provenza, the others carried some refreshments in to the murder room and placed them around the desks.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Flynn calls out. "Refreshments are served."

Just as Flynn finishes the sentence, one of the phones in the office rings.

"Oh good Lord, please no! Not now!" Provenza complains.

Amy walks over to her desk and answers the phone. Everyone is waiting impatiently to hear if they have to be at a crime scene. When she hangs up the phone again, she lets out a sigh of relief.

"Not to worry guys, that was only Doctor Morales. Captain," she turns to Sharon, "He apologizes for not being here. He would have liked to welcome you back as well, but his car broke down just as he left his garage."

Everyone chuckled.

"Thank you, Amy." Then she turns to face everyone and says, "Thank you so much everyone for this wonderful surprise. I truly never expected this and appreciate it more than you can imagine. Now that you have not been called out on a crime scene, I guess that means we can all grab some food and drinks now."

Everyone is taking a paper plate from Lieutenant Sanchez's desk and starts filling them with veggie snacks, fruit and some cookies. For drinks there is coffee, tea, water and some pink lemonade. While everyone is eating, they gather around Sharon and join in on a conversation to see how their Captain is doing. They had been visiting her frequently during the first couple of weeks, but then they got caught up in a major crime series, involving the disappearance of young women. Every woman was successful, had a family or at least a husband and a big circle of friends. There were thirty-five women who simply vanished. No bodies, no traces whatsoever of their whereabouts. It was all very mysterious and took them about six weeks to solve the case. They had already given up hope, but just last week, a witness came forward who could provide them with crucial evidence, which eventually led them to a very disturbing conclusion to their case. Behind the disappearance of those women was a trafficking organization, which kidnapped women at the behest of their clients, women they knew, worked with or had made the acquaintance of, in order to rape them. After this horrible crime was done, the women were brutally murdered and dumped in the ocean by the harbor. The team was glad that they had solved the case before their Captain was back, because they knew, after everything she had gone through over the past couple of months, it would be too early to start working again on such a horrific case.

About forty-five minutes later, Bill took Sharon aside to say his goodbyes.

"I am very sorry, but I have to go now. I have a meeting at 10am at the hospital. Will I see you tonight? I could make us some dinner."

"Yes, that would be lovely, Bill. I'll come by your place when I am done here. I really hope we don't get a new major crime case today. I really am excited to be back at work, but I also really wouldn't mind starting things slowly."

"I am certain your team will make sure that you don't take on too much work for the first couple of days."

"You are probably right. I will see you later then." She smiles at him as he leans forward to kiss her. When she comes back to the murder room, the team has already started cleaning up everything. She walks over to Rusty who has been sitting in Lieutenant Provenza's chair the whole time watching his mom being surrounded by people who love her and care for her. It felt good to see her like that, because that is what she deserved.

"Rusty, don't you have to be in school by now?"

"No, don't worry mom, we don't have any school today. The teachers are all at some religious seminar. I just didn't tell you about it because of the surprise. If it is okay I will stay here. I asked Buzz to prepare some homework for me."

"You did? Oh honey, I am so proud of you. Well, you know your way around. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to come see me in my office, okay?"

"Alright, I will!" With that, Rusty takes all his belongings and heads over to the break room to start the homework Buzz has prepared for him. Sharon makes her way to her office, taking a deep breath once she has stepped inside. It's only been eight weeks, but it feels like she has been gone for ages. She walks around her desk and sits down in her chair. Lieutenant Provenza has made a list with tasks that still need to be completed. She looks through the glass that connects her office with the murder room and watches her team get back to work. Smiling to herself, she does the same and gets right to work.

**Hope you enjoyed at! As always, reviews are appreciated! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter! Hope you enjoy it. This chapter is rated M. Thank you to all of the guest reviewers. **

Later that evening, Sharon finishes up with her paperwork and slides it into the correct file, placing it on the small stack of papers lying on the corner of her desk. Running her hand across her smooth desk, she revels in the feeling of being back to a normal life. She looks around her office, now fully realizing how much she has missed this place and the people she works with. Of course she loved having the time to be with Rusty and truly get to know Bill, but she missed the normal routine of work and the unwavering companionship of her fellow officers. Slowly pushing herself up from the chair, she gathers her purse and heads to the door, excited for her night alone with Bill.

Rusty meets her in front of his cubicle, glad to see the soft smile on her face. He's known that she's missed work, but he's glad that she's had that time to recover. He's glad that he's had that time to be with her, to know that she's finally getting well.

"You ready to go?" Sharon says to him cheerfully.

"Yeah, let me just get my stuff," Rusty replies. He ducks into the cubicle and swings his bag over his shoulders. As he walks out, Sharon lays her arm around his shoulder and they continue walking out of the murder room. She calls out good night to her team and then they head to the elevator.

As the elevator descends, Sharon says to Rusty, "I'm going to go over to Bill's tonight for dinner, if that's okay with you? I'll drop you off at home and then I'll head over there."

"Yeah, of course it's fine. Just don't be too late," Rusty looks at her with a grin on his face and Sharon can't help but let out a small laugh.

"I'll try not to be," she says once she can maintain a serious face and then she playfully bumps his shoulder. Just then the elevator dings, pronouncing they are on the first floor, and the door opens. They step out and make their way out of the building towards Sharon's car. As Sharon pulls out of the parking place, she says, "Do you want me to stop somewhere so you can get something to eat?"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll just make something at home. Thanks though," Rusty says. He's gotten used to eating dinner at home. For the past two months, he and Sharon had been taking turns cooking dinner, and now he knows what it feels like to have a homemade dinner every night.

They ride in companionable silence, just enjoying each other's company. As Sharon pulls up to the front of the apartment building, Rusty says, "Have fun tonight. I'll try to be up when you get home."

Sharon smiles but then says, "You don't have to stay up just for me, Rusty. I promise I'll be okay."

Rusty looks at Sharon and says seriously, "I know I don't have to, but I want to."

Sharon swallows the knot that's suddenly in her throat and says, "Well, how can I argue with that?" Sharon pulls right up to the entrance and lets Rusty off. "I'll see you later." She watches as Rusty walks through the doors, making sure that he gets in safely. The mother in her needs to know that he will always be safe. Before Sharon pulls away from the curb, she sends a quick text to Bill telling him that she's on her way, and then she starts to drive towards his apartment building. Before she gets out of the car, she checks herself in the mirror. She hasn't looked this happy in so long. She's getting ready to adopt Rusty, she has a man in her life that she loves, and she's recovered from breast cancer. She steps out of her car and makes her way up to his apartment.

Before she can even raise her hand to knock, the door opens in front of her. He must have sensed that she was here. She is greeted by his smiling face and his rough voice saying, "Hi Sharon." She doesn't think any other man could make her feel this loved just by saying her name. She steps into his apartment, closing the door behind her, and says, "Hi Bill. I've been looking forward to tonight all day."

He softly kisses her on the lips and then wraps his arms tightly around her, savoring the feeling of being close to her. "So have I." She closes her eyes and lives in this moment. As Bill releases her from his arms, she leans back and looks into his eyes. He presses a soft kiss to her brow and then asks, "Are you ready for dinner?"

"Yes, I'm starving. What are we having?"

"Well, I was thinking we could have beef stroganoff and salad, maybe a glass of wine."

"That sounds perfect. Anything I can do to help?" Sharon says. She takes off her shoes and places her purse on the arm of the couch, following Bill to the kitchen.

"You can make the salad," Bill says politely, starting to cook the meat on the stove.

Sharon opens up the fridge and gets the lettuce and a handful of cherry tomatoes out. She places the lettuce in a bowl and then drops the tomatoes in, gently placing the bowl on the table. She then sets the table and pours wine into two glasses, taking a sip out of hers and handing Bill his. She places her glass on the counter next to the stove and wraps her arms around Bill, laying her head on his shoulder blade. Bill turns around in her arms and pulls her lips in for a kiss, their magnetic pull keeping each other together. He runs his hand through her hair, feeling its silky smoothness. He finally breaks the kiss so he can take the beef stroganoff over to the table. Sharon picks up both of their wine glasses and heads over to the table, handing Bill his. She sits down across from him and places her glass down.

As they eat dinner, they make comfortable conversation. Bill asks how the rest of Sharon's day went and Sharon asks how Bill's meeting went. They both agree that it made their day better knowing it would be spent together tonight. Once they both finish eating, they clean up and then sit down on the couch. Sharon takes a sip of her wine and then places her glass on the coffee table. She looks over at Bill and grasps the back of his neck, pulling his lips to meet hers. Bill gently pushes her to lie back on the couch and he runs his hand down the side of her face. While keeping his weight on his elbows, knowing he would crush her if he slipped, he brings his lips down to hers and he feels her mouth open up to him. Before they can go too far, Bill sits back up and reaches for her hand. She takes it and he helps her up off the couch, leading her into his bedroom.

He closes the door behind them and then turns around, gazing at Sharon. Her long, wavy hair is so incredibly sexy. He moves over to her, slowly unbuttoning her blazer and slipping it off her arms. Then his hands move delicately over the buttons of her long sleeve blouse, gently pulling it off. He runs his hands down the sides of her body. Sharon pulls Bill's shirt off over his head and then pulls his lips in for a kiss. He unbuttons and unzips her slacks, letting them pool at her feet. As Sharon steps out of them, she undoes Bill's jeans and slides them off his legs. Bill moves behind her, gently unclasping Sharon's bra and then lets it slide down her arms. He wraps his arms around her waist and places a kiss on the side of her neck. They step out of their underwear and then they fall back onto Bill's bed, Sharon on top of Bill. Bill runs his hand up the length of her body, stopping at her neck and pulling her down to him. Her silky hair dangles down onto his chest as he kisses her. The next thing she sees is Bill flipping her over and now he is on top of her. He trails kisses down her chest and then back up, placing a kiss on her collar bone and then on her lips, her back arching into his touch. She is breathing rather heavily and she lets out a moan. Lifting her hips, she presses against Bill. She suddenly feels him enter her, enjoying the sensation of being so close to him. He thrusts into her harder and harder. She gasps as she feels herself reaching her climax. Bill's lips claim hers and they moan into each other's mouths. The sensation is overwhelming. She lifts her hips a little higher, letting him enter her more. She can feel him exploding inside of her. Her moans get louder as she finally reaches her climax, completely letting go of everything. Being in this moment, with the man she loves, is incredible. With her eyes closed, she loses herself in this feeling. She can feel Bill's chest expanding against hers, knows that he's panting as hard as she is. His thrusts become slower and slower until he eventually removes himself completely from her. He pulls her lips in for a passionate kiss once more until he drops down beside her on the bed.

Sharon rolls over onto her side as her breathing starts to normalize and props her head on her hand. "That was….wonderful."

Bill looks over at her and smiles. She looks absolutely stunning. There's this glow about her that's always there, no matter where she goes or who she's with, it's just Sharon. "Yes, I have to agree. But it's always wonderful with you."

Sharon shyly smiles and says, "Same to you."

Bills rolls over onto his side and brings Sharon's lips to his. "I was wondering, would you like to go up to the cabin in a couple weeks, just me and you? I'm sure Rusty could stay home alone or he could stay with a friend."

"I would absolutely love that, Bill. We could finally truly be alone. That would be wonderful. Yes, I would love to come with you." She smiles the smile that Bill loves. Her eyes crinkle in the corners and it lights up her entire face.

"Good, I'm glad that's settled then. I'll call you later and we'll make plans."

"Sounds great. I hate to do this, Bill, but I have to go. I do, I have to go."

"I completely understand. You have a son to take care of." He smiles at her and then they stand up. Bill helps Sharon put her clothes back on, gently buttoning all of her buttons and then kissing her lips.

"Stop distracting me, Bill, or I'll never leave." Her smile detracts from her trying to be serious.

"I'm okay with that," Bill says. He pulls on his clothes but then grasps Sharon's neck, bringing her to him once again. Passionately he pulls her in tightly and kisses her lips.

As they walk out of the bedroom, Bill holds her hand. Sharon picks up her purse and slips her feet into her shoes. Taking a final sip of her wine, she leans over and kisses Bill. "Thank you for tonight, it was wonderful, not just the sex."

"I have to agree." Bill opens the door for Sharon and watches her as she walks out. He suddenly realizes that he can't live without her. He won't ever regret the question he is going to ask in two weeks. Now all he has to do is get the permission from her three kids.

As Sharon walks into her condo, Rusty looks over at her from the couch and sees the smile plastered on her face. He doesn't even have to ask how tonight went, but he does anyway. "How was your night?"

"It was wonderful, thanks for asking. How was yours?"

"Oh you know, the usual, had dinner, watched T.V."

"Sounds like your kind of night. Well, I'm going to turn in, I'm pretty tired. Don't stay up too late. Good night, Rusty."

"Good night, mom. See you in the morning." He watches as Sharon walks into her room and can't help the smile that is on his face. His mom is truly happy. He turns the T.V. off and walks into his bedroom for the night.

**Hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the third chapter. Hope you all enjoy it! This chapter and the next chapter are going to be Sharon/Bill centered. **

"Rusty, have you seen my hiking boots?" Sharon asks exasperatedly. She has been running around the condo in circles for nearly two hours now, packing her bag for her weekend with Bill. When Rusty doesn't reply, she turns around to where he is standing and sees him frowning.

"What is it?" she asks.

"You own hiking boots? I didn't even know you knew that those existed. I have only ever seen you wear high heels and UGGs."

Now it was Sharon's turn to frown.

"Ok ok, and tennis shoes, but hiking boots?" A smirk is now forming on Rusty's lips and Sharon finally realizes that he has been mocking her. She gives him a soft nudge on the side of his shoulder and says, "You're such a cheeky monkey at times." They both laugh. Sharon then continues the search for her hiking boots. She has looked everywhere, in the closets in the hallway, her bedroom and in several boxes in her storeroom.

While on the search for her boots, she asks, "Are you sure you will be fine on your own this weekend? I can ask Lieutenant Provenza or Lieutenant Flynn to check on you or take you out to dinner."

"Nah, I will be fine, mom. I will have like fifty people over for this huge party, so I won't be alone."

Sharon now stands completely upright, eyes widening in shock. Just when she wants to give a reply Rusty starts laughing hysterically.

"Oh you! I don't have time for this, Rusty," she says, laughing as well. "Bill will be here any minute and I still haven't found those boots!"

Just when the doorbell rings, Rusty advices, "How about you try the ones you cleaned and put on the balcony the other night?" He winks at her while walking over to the door. "I will get it. It will probably be Bill. You better fetch those boots."

"Oh god, thank you Rusty. I don't know where my head has been recently." While Rusty opens the door, she hurries out on the balcony to get her shoes. When she gets back inside, Bill is standing in the middle of her living room, a big smile on his face.

"Hello darling."

Sharon quickly walks over to Bill and greets him with a kiss. "Hi Bill!"

"Are you all ready?" he asks.

"I just have to put these hiking shoes in my bag and then I am ready to go."

"You have hiking shoes?" Bill asks surprised. Seeing him having that same little grin form on his lips that Rusty had earlier, she replies, "Oh don't you start being cheeky like this young man. He has already made his point. I have too many UGGs and high heels, I know. I have been hiking before though, and I know better than to wear high heels on those trips." She puts the shoes in her bag and then walks over to Rusty. She puts her hands on the side of his arms and gently rubs up and down them a couple of times.

"Oh, I hate leaving you here alone and not being able to be reached if you need me. Too bad we won't have any reception up at the cabin. But Bill promised me we will drive to a little town nearby where they do have phone reception. So I will call you some time tomorrow, okay?"

"Really, mom, don't worry about me. I know I can call Lieutenant Provenza if I need anything, and I am actually going out for burgers with Amy and Sanchez tonight. Tomorrow, I made plans to see a movie with Buzz. And on Sunday you will already be back." He smiles at her, trying to reassure her that he means what he just said and make sure she can fully enjoy her weekend with Bill.

Sharon realizes what Rusty is doing and she is very grateful for it. "Well, alright then, just make sure you have your phone with you tomorrow, so I will reach you when I try to call, okay?"

"Of course! And now off with you, you two!"

Sharon and Bill look at each other and exchange a smile. Bill takes Sharon's bag while she grabs her purse and a little lunch basket. "All ready?" Bill asks.

"Yes, I believe so," Sharon replies. She turns to Rusty and gives him a tight hug, whispering in his ear, "Be good!"

"I always am, mom," he whispers back.

When they make their way out of the door, Sharon leading the way, Bill turns around to face Rusty and winks at him. Rusty nods, smiling.

The drive to the cabin goes much smoother than last time. While they were stuck in traffic the last time leaving LA, they decided to do their best to avoid rush-hour this time. Luckily, it worked and they were up at Big Bear in less than 3 hours. On their way to the cabin, Bill told Sharon what he had planned for the weekend. Tonight he is going to cook her dinner and after that they will enjoy a relaxed evening in front of the fire place with a bottle of wine and their new book. They had finished Searider Falcon the previous week and just started a new one, which was called "Dances with Wolves" by Michael Blake. Tomorrow they will go to the nearby town to buy some food and give a call to Rusty, to make sure he is alright. Around lunch time they will go for a hike from which they will probably return late that same evening. On Sunday they will have breakfast in bed and just relax until they head back to LA.

When they arrive at the cabin, Sharon is in awe. The last time she was here, she was very weak and in pain, so she couldn't fully take the beauty of the cabin and the surrounding nature and landscape in. This time, she can! The cabin, the lake that is right beside it and the trees that are surrounding it. Once they enter, Sharon feels like she has come home. Wherever Bill is, she feels right at home.

Thirty minutes later, they are done unpacking and settling down on the couch. Both have changed into more comfortable clothes and Sharon is now wearing a pair of UGGs. There is still plenty of time before Bill has to start with their dinner. He is planning on making baked eggplant, filled with couscous and vegetables. They had discovered the benefits of couscous a couple of weeks ago. It is low in fat and high in protein, which makes it a healthy dish, while the high levels of carbohydrates help feeling full for a longer period of time. Another benefit is that it is super easy and quick to make, which, all in all, makes it a great dish for their busy lives.

Around 8pm, they start preparing everything for dinner. While Bill takes care of the cooking, Sharon starts to set the table and opens a bottle of wine. She lights some candles and then sits down at the table, where she is soon joined by Bill. "Eggplant has to bake in the oven for about 30 min, and then we can eat," he says.

"That's good, because I am starting to get really hungry." There is silence between them, not an awkward silence but a peaceful and comfortable silence. They don't need to talk to express their feelings for one another. As their faces move closer together, Bill raises his hands and gently cups her faces between his palms, drawing her closer to him until their lips touch. What starts as a soft kiss quickly turns into a passionate and fast paced kiss. They slowly start rising from their chairs, not breaking their kiss, trying to move over to the couch. However, they only make it as far as the kitchen counter. They break from the kiss, both breathing heavily. Sharon can feel Bill's groin pressing against his pants, aching for her. They look each other deep in the eyes. Sharon sees a question in Bill's eyes, to which she answers with a light nod of her head. That's all the approval Bill needs. He quickly undoes his belt and pants and drops them down to his feet, along with his underwear. Seeing how Bill is already fully erect, she quickly pushes her pants and undies down as well. Once it is done, Bill quickly places his hands under Sharon's arms and lifts her up onto the kitchen counter. She can see the lust and want in his eyes, the need to have her close and be inside of her. She moves a little forward, to the edge of the counter, moving her hips slightly forward, offering herself to him. Bill then locks lips with her passionately, not giving her time to even take a breath. His hands that are still placed under her arms are now slowly and gently moving down her back until they reach her tailbone. Drawing her a little closer to him, he enters her with a passionate thrust. Sharon moans into their kiss. It's been a while since she has felt him inside of her, and it feels so good. After not moving inside of her for a few seconds, he begins to gently move in and out of her, again and again, eventually picking up in pace. With his thrusts getting faster and deeper, Sharon feels her climax approaching quickly. Kissing and moaning at the same time, she feels Bill getting close to his as well. Despite her whole body shaking with lust, she manages to open herself up to Bill a little more with every thrust, letting him in deeper and deeper. Suddenly, she feels him coming inside of her, filling her out with his hot fluids completely. Breaking from the kiss, Sharon closes her eyes, throws back her head and gives out a loud moan, enjoying this moment to the fullest. Bill places his head on her chest and like that, they remain for a little while, just enjoying the closeness. Then, slowly, he removes himself from her. He walks over to the sink and grabs a towel from a drawer below it, giving it to Sharon so she can clean herself up a bit.

"Thank you, and I don't mean for the towel," she teases. "It's been much too long and I missed being close to you so much. It was just wonderful."

"It was indeed. I long for you every time we meet and usually I can control myself, but tonight, you and me alone up here, you over there in the candle light, I just couldn't control myself anymore."

"Who says I want you to control yourself? I have longed for you as much as you have for me. Please, let's not wait that long again." They both laugh and Bill says, "Not a chance!"

Several minutes later, the alarm clock for the oven goes off. "Perfect timing," Bill says. He takes out the tray with the eggplants and puts them on the table. Sharon is already seated and now takes in the delicious smell of the food in front of her.

"This smells superb, Bill. I can't wait to try it."

Once he is done serving the food, Bill sits down next to Sharon at the table. They enjoy their food in silence, exchanging a smile from time to time though.

Having finished their meals about 20 minutes later, they take their wine glasses and the bottle and move over to the couch in front of the fire place. They lay down on it with Sharon lying half way on Bill, her head resting on his chest and her arm tightened around his waist. While his right arm is also tightened around Sharon's waist, he is holding the book with his left. Once they are comfortable, Bill starts reading from the book. They had just gotten to the point where John Dunbar, the protagonist, finds a young woman under a tree in the middle of the prairie. She is obviously in distress. He sees that her wrists are bleeding, so he is getting off his horse to see if he can help.

After reading about 15 pages, Bill notices that Sharon's breathing has become much more even. She has fallen asleep, so he closes the book and puts it on the little table which is standing next to the couch. He now wraps his left arm around Sharon's petite frame and closes his eyes as well. He opens them again shortly to take a look at the fire place. The fire looks fine. It will slowly burn down and go out soon anyway if he doesn't add any new logs to it. He had built the fire place himself, about thirty years ago, right after buying this cabin. There was many a night where they had fallen asleep before the fire was completely extinguished but nothing had ever happened.

Before falling asleep with the love of his life in his arms, Bill thinks about the next day, hoping that everything will go as planned.

**Hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it! And we thank all the guest reviewers. We appreciate your comments. **

With the first sun rays shining through the window of the cabin, Bill wakes up finding Sharon in exactly the same position she had fallen asleep in on him last night. Seeing how the sun shines on her face, bringing out her beauty even more, he catches himself falling in love with her a little more. The thought of waking up next to Sharon every morning makes his heart flutter with joy. He is watching her sleep, taking in all the little features of her face, even her hair. He loves how unruly it gets overnight and wonders how Sharon always manages to tame it in the morning. He starts to gently rub his hand up and down her back, trying to wake her up carefully. With a little sigh, she slowly opens her eyes. Turning her head a little, she looks up at Bill who is smiling down at her. She can see his love for her in his eyes and she suddenly feels butterflies in her stomach.

"Good morning sunshine," Bill says gently.

"Morning," Sharon replies, still half asleep.

"If you move over a little and let me get up, I will make us some coffee and breakfast. What do you think?"

"That sounds wonderful," she says, doing as he asked. He walks over to the kitchen and starts the coffee machine while Sharon is watching him. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well. Sorry for falling asleep on you last night while you were reading though."

"Don't worry about that. You've had an exhausting week. You closed a very big case."

"That we did indeed. Hmm, that smells really good. Freshly brewed coffee! The elixir of life, at least in the morning," she giggles.

"Why don't you get changed and I will finish fixing breakfast? Would you like pancakes or eggs?"

"Alright," she says lifting herself slowly from the couch, "And scrambled eggs, please!" Approaching the bedroom, she suddenly turns toward him again, "I love you so very much, Bill."

"I love you too, Sharon, more than you could ever imagine."

"Oh, I think you showed me how much you love me last night. So I have a pretty good idea," she teases. With that she disappears into their bedroom, just to come out again after two minutes, fresh clothes neatly folded over her arm, and disappearing once more, this time into the bathroom.

Just as Bill finished serving the eggs and pouring the coffee, Sharon walks out of the bathroom.

"How do you do that?"

"What?" Sharon asks surprised.

"How do you always manage to tame your hair in the morning? It's always such a beautiful unruly and voluminous mess when you wake up and after only fifteen minutes in the bathroom it looks all detangled and straight, like you just came home from the hairdresser."

Sharon starts laughing whole-heartedly. "I am sorry, but you are really the most adorable man in the world, wondering about that kind of thing. Just so you know, there is this wonderful and magical invention called a "hair brush". I use that! First I dampen my hair a little with water, then I spray some straightening lotion from John Frieda's Frizz-Ease product line on it and then I simply brush through it." Seeing how Bill is frowning, she adds, "And I am just really lucky with the texture of my hair. That makes a lot of things much easier for me."

Suddenly Bill seems to understand. "Ah, alright, yeah, that makes sense." They both laugh.

"Why don't you sit down while I go change real quick? I will be back in a minute or two and then we can have breakfast."

Sharon nods in agreement so Bill rushes off to their bedroom. A minute later he comes rushing out in new clothes and disappears into the bathroom, just like Sharon did before. Two minutes later, he joins her at the breakfast table.

Once they finish eating, they clean the dishes together. Bill washes them and Sharon dries them off afterwards.

"I am really looking forward to talking to Rusty," Sharon starts, "I know he has been out with Amy and Sanchez, but I still worry about him being home alone overnight."

"You are his mother," Bill states, "You have the right to be worried at any time. It's the prerogative of a mother."

"Thank you, honey. This just proves to me again why I love you so much." Sharon narrows the distance between herself and Bill, puts one hand behind his head and draws him nearer for a kiss. Bill drops what he is holding and wraps his arms around Sharon, pulling her closer to him.

Breaking from the kiss, Sharon says smiling, "We should get ready to go to that town. I really want to know if Rusty is alright."

Fifteen minutes later, they are out of the cabin and in the car. The town they are driving to is called Fawnskin. It is an unincorporated community and belongs to the county of San Bernadino.

"Fawnskin was an artists' colony once," Bill explains to Sharon while driving through the town. "It especially attracted artisans, composers, musicians and also actors from Los Angeles. In the 19th century, mountain travelers passed through it on their way to Big Bear Valley. There isn't really anything going on here, but they have a grocery store and a post office, the latter of which was established in 1918."

"Oh, that is interesting. You have certainly done your research on your neighbors." Sharon giggles slightly.

"Well, if you have had a cabin up here for the past thirty years and almost always rely on this town during your stays, you ought to learn a little bit about it and its people." Bill drives up a little driveway and parks the car in front of what seems to be the grocery store. "We are here. I will go inside and get what we need and you can just stay in the car and call Rusty. Sound okay?"

"Yes, sounds goods. Thanks!" Sharon watches Bill leave and enter the store and then grabs her phone from her purse, speed-dialing Rusty's number. It's 10:45am, so Rusty should be awake by now.

"Hello?" asks a sleepy voice. So she did wake him.

"Rusty, it's me. I am sorry for waking you up, but we just got to this nearby town and this is my only chance to call you."

"Oh hey, mom. Don't worry, it's fine. I have been expecting your call. I just got home a little late last night. Amy and Sanchez took me out bowling after we had burgers. It was a tough battle, I am telling you. Amy is really good. She beat both Sanchez and me. How are things going with Bill?"

"Good. We are just here to grab some groceries right now and then we will head back to the cabin. A little later we are going to go on a hike," Sharon explains.

"Ah, sounds like fun."

"Yes, it surely will be. What are you up to until tonight? Are you still going to the movies with Buzz?"

"Yeah, he is supposed to pick me up around 7pm tonight. We are going to watch 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' Until then, I think I will just catch up on some more homework, you know pretending to be a good student and all."

Now Sharon laughs out loud. Rusty loves hearing Sharon's full-out-laugh. He missed hearing it over the past couple of months.

"Well, you are a very good student, Rusty, so there is no need to pretend to be anything. You are wonderful the way you are and I couldn't be any prouder of you. I hope you are planning on having a nice breakfast before you start studying?"

"Of course, mom. I know, I know. One can't think on an empty stomach."

"Exactly! Listen, we should be back in the early afternoon tomorrow. So, I will see you then. Have fun with Buzz and tell him hello from me."

"I will," he replies. "Oh and mom…"

"Yes, honey? What is it?" Sharon asks, a little concern in her voice.

"I love you!"

Sharon lets out a relieved sigh and smiles to herself. "I love you too, Rusty. Bye!"

She hangs up the phone and puts it back in her purse. When she looks up and out of the windshield, she sees Bill leaving the store. Perfect timing.

About thirty minutes later, they are back at the cabin. After unloading the car, they are immediately starting to prepare everything for their picnic. While Bill is making some sandwiches, Sharon is putting some fruit and vegetables into Ziplock bags.

"Could you go get the blanket from our bedroom please, Sharon? It's lying on the bed. I already put it there this morning."

"I certainly can." With that, she hurries down the hallway and disappears into their bedroom. When she comes back, she is carrying a big dark green blanket, which is neatly folded.

"Thank you! Sandwiches are done. Why don't we go change? I am really looking forward to seeing you in those hiking boots," he teases.

Sharon replies with a little nudge to his shoulder. "Don't you start again."

Suddenly, Bill wraps his arms around Sharon's waist again, just as he did this morning, and draws her close to him, kissing her passionately. Sharon clasps her hands behind his head and rubs through his salt and pepper hair. She loves to play with his hair, and so does he. A while after she stopped with the chemotherapy sessions, her hair finally stopped falling out. It was a major relief that she has so much hair or otherwise the result from all the hair loss would have been much more devastating. Certainly, she had lost a lot of hair, but it was only really herself who noticed it, when she was washing or brushing it. Luckily, the loss of her hair was not a permanent problem since it is growing back with time.

About fifteen minutes later, they are both changed and ready to go. Bill is taking the backpack with the food for the picnic, while Sharon is carrying the blanket.

"Ready?" Bill asks.

"Ready!" she confirms. Taking each other's hand, they begin their hike through the woods.

"How long is the hike going to be again?"

Bill takes a short moment to consider his reply. "About one and a half to two hours. It really depends on our speed."

"Alright then." Sharon nods, satisfied with his reply. She has no idea where they are going, but she was hoping the hike wouldn't be more than three hours each way, so two hours sounds very reasonable.

Time passes quickly, as they talk a lot about the forest, the lake, but also life in general.

"There's so much life," Sharon says, stunned by all the beauty they encounter around the Big Bear region.

Bill smiles at her and holds her hand a little tighter. He never wants to let her go again.

About one hour and forty-five minutes later, they arrive at their final destination. They have been walking up a rocky path for the last ten minutes. Having reached the top, Sharon can't believe her eyes.

"Oh my god, Bill, I recognize this. This is our hill. You are such a sneaky man."

"Why thank you," he says smiling. "Then the surprise was a success."

"Very much so, my darling, and such a nice one." Sharon is overjoyed with how thoughtful Bill always is. That is one of the many qualities she loves dearly about him.

While Bill spreads the blanket on the ground, Sharon takes in the beautiful view they have from the hill. The lake is right below at the bottom of the hill. She can see the little jetty where their boat was tied to the last time they were here. She can hear leaves rustle in the wind and the birds chirping happily in the distant trees. It is early afternoon and the sun is still standing high, as if it were still high noon. The sky is a deep blue with no clouds.

When Sharon turns around to face Bill, she finds him kneeling on the blanket, his eyes full of love and pride. She lets out a loud gasp and her heart stops beating for a second, and then it continues, now racing.

As tears prickle Sharon's eyes, Bill says, "Sharon Raydor, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

**Hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry about the wait. Hope you all enjoy it! **

"About time!"

Bill's face goes blank in shock. He can't believe what he just heard. Has he really heard correctly? Did she just say what he thinks she said? Maybe all this anticipation from preparing for this moment has made him delirious for some reason. To make sure, he carefully asks, "So, is that a yes?"

"Of course that's a yes. I thought you would never ask," Sharon replies, her smile widening with every second.

Bill holds her left hand in his and slowly slips the ring on, it fits perfectly. Suddenly, he stands up, kisses her passionately, and then lifts her up, his hands around her hips, swinging her around in joy.

Despite being slightly overwhelmed by his reaction, she quickly realizes what he is actually doing. "Put me down, Bill. You're too old to pick me up like this. You will hurt your back, Dr."

Bill raises his eyebrow at her. "Well, I know of something I still can do at my old, old age." He smiles mischievously at her.

Sharon returns his smile, with just as much mischievousness as him. She is taking a step forward, and then another, pushing Bill gently backwards and guiding him back to their blankets. On the way there, both of them drop their clothes, one after the other. A minute later, they are standing on top of the hill, stark naked and giggling like little children who just did something naughty. Well, they are about to do something naughty!

Looking down on Bill, she sees that he is almost already completely erect. Apparently she has that effect on him. By the time they lay down on one of the blankets, Bill is fully erect. Sharon lies down right next to him.

"I want to make love to you, Sharon. Not just have sex, but love." He is climbing on top of her, making sure to balance his weight on his knees and not on her.

He starts kissing her on the lips and then he moves up, placing little kisses on her nose, then her forehead. He then moves down again to her left shoulder, kissing his way across her collar bone to her cleavage, from where he moves further down, first to her left breast and then to her right, suckling on each for a few seconds. While he is doing that, his hands are moving softly up and down her waist. Every now and then, they are moving behind her back where he gently massages her tailbone. He can feel Sharon's nipples hardening with every passing second he is sucking on them. Sharon has her eyes closed, enjoying every bit of Bill's caresses. Feeling herself getting wet between her legs, she is humming in satisfaction. She is biting her lips and moving her hips up a little, offering herself to him.

"Not yet," he teases.

Sharon moans slightly.

Kissing his way down her belly, he reaches her naval, in which he makes little circles with his tongue, causing Sharon to slightly giggle. His hands are now massaging her breasts. Again, Sharon offers herself to him by raising her hips.

"Soon," he teases again, which results in another moan from Sharon. She wonders how he can hold out that long, considering he was already fully erect by the time they lied down. Slightly distracted by this little trail of thought, she now feels Bill down between her legs. His hands are moving up and down her outer thighs. One minute later, Bill finally whispers, "Now!" In joyful anticipation, Sharon opens her already open legs a little wider and raises her hips, welcoming Bill to finally enter her. He grabs her hips to assist her and move her in the perfect position. Instead of thrusting inside of her though, he takes his time, prolonging the whole process even more. When he finally enters her, Sharon lets out a moan of satisfaction. Moving in and out of her slowly, Bill is enjoying her warm and moist depth around him. Changing their position slightly, he manages to enter her even deeper with every move. Approaching her climax, Sharon throws back her head. Bill must have just reached his climax as well, because she now feels his hot fluids filling out her womb – and it feels heavenly. Removing himself from her slowly, Bill moves to lie next to Sharon on the blankets. He puts one arm underneath Sharon's head, and with the other, he draws her closer to him into a hug.

"That was truly amazing, Bill," Sharon admits, still a little out of breath. "No one has ever 'made love' to me like this before."

"But someone will from now on, for the rest of your life." He smiles at her. It still seems surreal that he will finally marry the woman he has been majorly attracted to for over 20 years. He had almost given up hope that she would ever feel the same attraction to him that he felt for her. But then it happened, at the worst time in her life. At a time, when he was so close to losing her, just when his dream had become a reality.

"I love you!" Sharon whispers in his ear.

"I love you even more. I love you more than yesterday, but less than tomorrow. I will love you more with each day that passes."

"How shall we break the news to the kids? Do you think we should get them all together in one place and then make the announcement?" Sharon wonders.

"That won't be necessary."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they already know. I wanted to ask for their consent before I asked their mother to marry me. I know how important your children are to you, and I wanted to be certain they would accept me as a new family member."

"Oh, I see. So I guess they did give their consent, or else you wouldn't have asked me?"

"They were delighted! I thought it would be important to you too, although they are grown up and two of the three have moved out, that you knew they were fine with this news. Lee was very excited as well, by the way. He always liked you a whole lot. He will come home for Thanksgiving in a month and he is thrilled to see you again."

"Lee has always been a bright and charming young man. I am looking forward to seeing him again."

Bill draws her a little closer to him, taking in the beautiful scent of her hair.

"The sun is starting to set. I think we should slowly make our way back to the cabin. We can eat the sandwiches on the way."

They get up from the blankets and collect their clothes. After they are both dressed again, they fold the blankets and start to walk back down the hill. Their hill! This time, Bill is taking Sharon along another route, a 'more direct route,' he admits. "We might have gone on a little detour earlier, but I wanted to make sure you didn't realize where exactly we were going."

"Well, the surprise was certainly a success, in every way."

About seventy-five minutes later, they arrive back at the cabin. The sun has already set completely by now. "What do you want me to make for dinner?" Bill asks.

"Well, what are the options?"

"Let's see. We have spaghetti, eggs, and some veggies like leek, tomatoes, carrots and red onions. Oh and there is also a big red bell pepper. How about a spaghetti-veggie casserole?

"That sounds, interesting. Surprise me. Do you need any help?"

"Nope, you can just go ahead and take a nice long bubble bath."

"How did you…"

"I know you, Sharon Raydor." Bill smiles proudly at her. "Now off with you. I will call you once the dish is close to being ready."

"Alright! You are wonderful," Sharon says, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Shortly after, she disappears in the bathroom.

While Sharon enjoys the hot bath, Bill is cutting veggies, boiling spaghetti and preparing a sauce from scratch. About forty minutes later, he calls Sharon, telling her that dinner will be ready in ten minutes.

"Okay, I will be right with you," she calls from the bathroom. Seven minutes later, Sharon comes out of the bathroom, dressed in a pair of fluffy pajamas and wrapped in a purple bathrobe. She is wearing her favorite black UGGs. Her hair is pinned up loosely.

"You look beautiful," Bill compliments her.

"Don't be silly. I must look awful," Sharon giggles.

"I'm not kidding. You look adorable in this attire. Come, sit down. Dinner will be served in a minute."

While Sharon is making herself comfortable at the table, Bill is pouring two glasses of champagne. "Considering the special occasion, I thought I would bring a bottle of this."

Once he is done pouring the glasses, he moves to the oven and turns it off. He takes out the casserole and places it on the dinner table. He then takes a spatula and cuts serving-sized squares with it. Taking her first bite, Sharon hums. "Mmmm, that's delicious. You really are a master chef."

"Thank you, darling. It is always a great pleasure to cook for my future wife." They smile at each other and Bill takes her hand in his. "I will not disappoint you! Making you happy will be my ultimate goal in life."

"Same here, honey." Sharon says in return.

They finish the evening all snuggled up on the couch, covered in a blanket and going about their favorite activity. Well, second favorite activity. With a glass of champagne in her hand, Sharon listens to Bill reading to her in his deep but always so soothing voice.

Around midnight, when the fire is almost burnt out, they decide to go to bed. They have to pack in the morning, before they will make their way back to the city. Reflecting on the events of this day, Sharon falls sound asleep on Bill's chest. Bill, on the other hand, is wide awake. His dream is finally becoming a reality. Holding the love of his life in his arms, he also reflects on the events of this day. It takes another three hours before he can finally fall asleep. But it is a very good and sound sleep. Bill feels very much at peace.

The next morning, they are woken by the sunrays which shine through the bedroom window.

"Good morning, darling," Bill speaks with an even raspier voice than usual.

"Good morning!"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you! You?"

"Haven't slept that well in years." They kiss. "Are you ready to head back to LA after breakfast?" Bill asks.

"Yes! I can't believe how quickly this weekend has passed," Sharon replies.

"It is very sad indeed. Time just flies by when you enjoy yourself. Why don't you pack your belongings while I make breakfast?

"Sounds good." Sharon smiles at him.

Bill stretches his limbs one more time, noticing the slight pain in his back from picking Sharon up the day before, and then gets out of bed, while Sharon watches him. Once he leaves the room, she gets up herself and starts packing.

About twenty minutes later, Sharon comes out of the bedroom, carrying her belongings and placing them next to the front door. "All done!"

"Great, I just finished preparing breakfast. I made pancakes and an omelet. I couldn't decide so I made both." They both sit down at the table and Bill serves Sharon some omelet first and once she finishes, he serves her two pancakes.

About an hour and a half later, they are all ready to go. They have finished breakfast, washed the dishes, swept the cabin, brought out the garbage and put their stuff in the trunk of Bill's car. The drive back to LA goes even smoother than the way to the cabin.

"I think it was a wise idea to leave before noon. Traffic would have been hell in the afternoon, when everyone got back from their weekend trips."

"I agree," Sharon adds.

By 1:35pm, they arrive back at Sharon's condo.

"Do you want me to accompany you upstairs?"

"No need, but thank you so much for offering. And thank you even more for this perfect weekend. I can't wait to become Mrs. Raydor-Adama." They share a passionate kiss, and then Sharon gets out of the car. She takes her belongings out of the trunk and then walks toward the entrance of her building. Bill watches her as she enters and then disappears in the main hall, the doors closing behind her. Soon, he will be married to this stunning, strong woman. She will be all his, and he will be all hers.

**As always, reviews are appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, here's the next chapter. I tried to get it done quickly so you all would have another chapter to read before long. Hope you enjoy it! **

Sharon steps off the elevator and makes her way over to her front door, thinking back on the weekend and how wonderful it was. She still can't believe that she is engaged. She had told herself after what had happened with Jack that she was never going to say 'I do' again. But after what happened with her cancer and Bill slowly crawling his way into her heart, it just feels right. As she reaches into her purse to fish out her keys, the light of her new engagement ring glints in the corner of her eye. She stops and raises her hand in front of her eyes, admiring it. It has a round white diamond center stone with white diamond side stones set in the silver band. It is simple yet stunning; Bill chose well. She reaches once again in her purse and finds her keys, slipping them into the lock. She enters her condo and is surprised to find it clean and quiet; you would never guess that a teenage boy lives here. She drops her keys and purse on the table beside the door and leaves her suitcase in her bedroom, kicking off her shoes as well. Knocking on Rusty's bedroom door, she calls out, "Rusty, I'm home!"

"Hey! I'll be out in a minute," Rusty calls out.

Sharon walks towards the kitchen and pours herself a large glass of water, sitting down on one side of the couch. She tucks her feet up underneath her and gazes out towards the window, suddenly startled when Rusty sits down beside her. She looks over at him and notices the huge grin on his face. She loves seeing him smile, loves knowing that there is a reason for him to smile. He hasn't been able to do it enough in his life and that thought makes her sad.

"So, how was the cabin? Better than last time?" Rusty says with the knowing smile still plastered on his face. She can't believe that he was able to keep that secret from her, seeing his reaction now, and so she decides to tease him a bit.

"The cabin was wonderful and the company wasn't too bad either. It was great to be able to experience it without being sick. I can understand why someone might want to live out there, not being bothered by the big cities. It's beautiful being surrounded by all the nature. Other than that, nothing new happened. How was your weekend?"

"Oh, you know, it was nice to be alone. No one nagging me to clean my room. But really, nothing else happened?" Rusty says this with a confused look on his face. Surely Bill didn't back out. He always sees the way Bill looks at Sharon, the way that he loves her.

"Very funny, young man. But no, nothing else happened. Why?" Sharon says this with a straight face, not wanting to mess up her teasing. She wants to see how long Rusty will keep this up.

"Oh, nothing, never mind." As he says this, Sharon sees the disappointed look on Rusty's face and decides to give in and just tell him. She doesn't want him to get upset with Bill.

She holds out her left hand and teasingly says, "Rusty, are you meaning this?"

He looks down and says, "Yes… Sharon, it's so pretty."

"I know, I love it. It's stunning. I wasn't ever planning on getting married again after Jack but this just seems right. He told me that he asked you, Ricky, and Katie. When did he talk to you about that?"

"Well, I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I'll tell you anyway. He called all of us the day after you went back to work, but I know he had the ring before then." At this, Sharon gives him a confused look. "When you were healing from your surgery and he was over all the time, I caught him looking in your jewelry box and I asked him why and he told me he was trying to figure out your ring size. He's a really nice guy, Sharon."

"I know he is. And wow, so he's been planning this for a while. It definitely took me by surprise." She places her glass of water on a coaster on the coffee table and places her hands back on her lap, warming them up by rubbing them together; the coldness of the ice water slowly seeping out of her hands.

"I'm sure it did. I'm happy for you, Sharon." Rusty looks at her sincerely and then turns to gaze out the window. He seems to be a little lost in thought and sad and it reminds Sharon of when he thought that he was being abandoned for Katie.

"What's on your mind, Rusty? Tell me." Sharon says this gently and lays her hand on Rusty's knee, squeezing it slightly.

Rusty turns to look at her again and says with a shake of his head, "It's nothing important." He shrugs and then looks back towards the window.

"Rusty, whatever it is, it's important to me. Just tell me." Rusty looks over at her and she is looking at him with that loving look in her eyes; the one that only she can make. And that breaks him.

"I'm just worried that now that you have Bill, you won't want me here." Rusty looks down at his lap, terrified of what she will think.

Sharon looks shocked. Of all the things he could have said, she was not expecting this. Suddenly, her look of shock turns to sadness, because obviously he has been feeling this way for a while. "Rusty, why on Earth would you say that? Of course I still want you here."

There is a moment of silence, but then Rusty speaks. "Because that had happened with my mom. And that's all I have ever known." Even though Rusty's head is tilted down, Sharon can still tell that he is crying. His voice is not as firm as it usually is and his breathing is uneven.

Sharon barely hesitates before she scoots closer and wraps her arm around his shoulders. She feels him lean in to her side. "Rusty, I'm not her. You have to believe me when I tell you that I am not her. I would never do that to you. You are part of my family, Rusty. I love you just as much as I love my biological children. This is your home and it can be your home for as long as you want it to be. I will always want you here. That is something that will never change, even when I do get married. Okay?" She gives his shoulder a tight squeeze.

"Okay. It just scares me sometimes. But thank you, Sharon. Thank you for always reassuring me." Rusty turns his head and looks at her.

Sharon nods her head and says, "You're welcome." She gently presses her thumb against Rusty's cheeks and wipes his tears away. She releases Rusty from her side embrace and says, "Alright, I'm going to go put my stuff away and then you're going to actually tell me how your weekend was." She takes a final sip of her water and then pushes herself off of the couch. Setting her glass down on the counter in the kitchen, she then makes her way over to her bedroom.

As she puts her stuff away, throwing some of it in the dirty laundry that needs to be washed, Rusty sits down on her bed and tells her all about his weekend. Once she finishes putting everything away from her weekend trip, Sharon says to Rusty, "Well, it sounds like you did have a good weekend, even if I wasn't here." She looks teasingly at Rusty and bumps her shoulder against his. "Why don't we go out and play a few games of chess?"

Rusty looks disbelievingly at her and says, "Sharon, the last time you played chess with me I won in two minutes."

Sharon smiles teasingly at him. "And did you ever stop to think that maybe I let you win? I could have been building your confidence. I mean, I couldn't have become a captain without having some logic skills."

Rusty looks at her oddly and can't decide if she is being serious or not. "Fine, you're on. Let me get my chess board and I'll meet you in the dining room."

"Okay." Sharon and Rusty both leave her room, but while Sharon goes to her usual place at the dining room table and sits down, Rusty walks into his bedroom to get the chess board. He walks back out and sits across from Sharon, setting up the pieces.

For the next couple of hours, they continue playing chess. While Sharon is smiling across the board at Rusty, Rusty is staring at the board intently, still in disbelief that Sharon has won every chess match so far.

As Sharon makes dinner, Rusty finally gives in and admits that Sharon is better at chess than him. And he admits that she truly was just building his confidence the first time they had played together. She smiles at him and says, "Well, at least you can admit it." Before Rusty can lightly shove Sharon, she says, "Alright, dinner's ready."

After dinner, Rusty and Sharon sit down and watch a movie. Once it's over, they say goodnight and head to their respective rooms, Sharon needing to go to bed early because she has work in the morning.

* * *

The next morning, Sharon rushes out the door with a promise from Rusty to get up in time for school. She slides her feet gracefully into her shoes and slips out the front door quietly, locking it behind her. As she drives to work, she keeps glancing down to her left hand. Not having worn a ring for a long time, it feels weird with it on, but it also feels right. She finally arrives at work after sitting in 45 minutes of LA traffic and is surprised to see her team working on a case.

As she sits down on the corner of Provenza's desk, looking at the white board, Provenza says, "Hello Captain. You look really happy for someone who had to come in to work."

"What can I say, I enjoy seeing you all. So, we catch a case?" Sharon sets her purse down beside the desk and then looks at Provenza. Expecting an answer from Provenza, she is surprised when the voice is Amy's.

"Yeah, we did. We'll catch you up. How was your weekend?" Amy swivels her chair to look directly at Sharon, letting the paperwork on her desk be forgotten for a couple of minutes.

Sharon turns toward Amy and says, "My weekend was wonderful. Thank you for asking, Amy. And actually, I have something to tell you all. I'm engaged." Sharon knows that this is not something that you would normally tell your team, but they have also become her family. They all helped her overcome her cancer, so they deserve to know this.

Provenza is the first to speak. "What? Someone else is actually going to marry you?"

Sharon turns around and swats Provenza in the arm, slightly harder than she meant to, but he deserves it. "Yes. Bill proposed to me out of his own free will."

"Well that's surprising," Provenza mutters with a teasing smile on his face. He has to keep up his grumpy façade somehow.

"Congratulations, Captain," Flynn says.

"I'm happy for you, Captain," Amy says, "You deserve it."

Mike adds, "Yes, you do deserve it, Captain. Have you told your children?"

"Thank you, all of you. And actually, Mike, they knew before me. Bill called all of them before he proposed to me and asked them for their permission. All three of them have known for a couple weeks."

"That's so sweet. You really have a great man," Amy says.

"Yes, I do. Alright, I am going to go put my purse in my office and then you all are going to catch me up on this case." Sharon picks up her purse and heads over to her office. She places her purse down behind her desk and slips out of her blazer, laying it across her chair. As she walks back out into the murder room, she takes a seat once again on Provenza's desk and they begin telling her about the murder.

**Hope you all enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated and loved.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, well here's the next chapter. Thank you to all of our guest reviewers! And to the guest who asked if Elosha was going to oversee the wedding in the future, she might be. Hope you all enjoy it!**

It's the morning of Thanksgiving and Sharon is finishing up curling her hair before she has to leave to pick her children up from the airport. She does some last minute touch-ups on her hair and then quickly hairsprays it. She is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with her present and future family, especially knowing that they will all get along. As she heads out to her kitchen to have breakfast, she knocks on Rusty's door and calls, "Rusty, it's time to get up! We need to leave to pick up Ricky and Katie in half an hour!"

"Okay," Rusty grumbles, his face still smashed into the pillow.

"Teenagers," Sharon mumbles and she walks into the kitchen. As she pulls the milk and orange juice out of the refrigerator, she double-checks her children's arrival times from the papers that are on her fridge, both of them planning it out so that they arrived to the airport at the same time. Seeing that she has the time correct, she pours herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice and sits down at the table. As she is sitting down, her phone buzzes in her pocket. She takes a bite of her cereal and then pulls out her cell phone, swiping the screen to see the new message.

_Good morning, my dear. Lee and his girlfriend just got here and we are starting to get the food ready. See you soon. I love you._

She smiles at his use of the endearment and then types back. _I am heading out to pick up Katie and Ricky soon. I am looking forward to meeting Lee's girlfriend. Can't wait! I love you too. _She places her phone on the table and continues eating breakfast. As she finishes up, she hears Rusty move from his bedroom to the bathroom, the door closing behind him. She picks up her phone, pushing it into her pocket, and then places her dishes in the dishwasher. Walking into her bedroom, she slips her heels on and then moves over to her bathroom to brush her teeth.

Just as she is finishing up, she hears Rusty mutter, "Women…" And then he says louder from her bedroom door, "Are you ready yet?"

Sharon walks out of her bathroom with her eyebrow raised and says, "Yes, Rusty, I'm ready." She follows him out to the door and slings her purse over her shoulder, pulling out her phone from her pocket and placing it in her purse.

They ride the elevator down to the parking garage and take the vehicle that has more room, which is Sharon's. As Sharon starts her car, Rusty says, "I'm actually really looking forward to today. It's going to be nice to finally meet Bill's son."

Sharon looks over at him quickly before she pulls out of the parking garage to head to the airport. "I know, I'm looking forward to it too. I haven't seen Lee since he was little and it's obviously the first time that I will be meeting his girlfriend. And it's just going to be nice to have my family all together, present and future."

The drive to the airport is silent except for the background music coming from the radio. Sharon begins humming along to the tune of Nico & Vinz's "Am I Wrong" and then suddenly starts singing along.

Rusty turns and looks at her oddly. "I have lived with you for two years and I have never once heard you sing along to songs that are on the radio currently."

Sharon pauses in her singing to give Rusty a reply. "Rusty, just because you think that I don't keep up with the times does not mean that I don't know current music hits." She looks at him teasingly and then goes back to singing along to the radio.

Rusty shrugs his shoulders and then cranks the radio up just for Sharon. She looks over at him, smiles, and then sings louder. As the song ends, they arrive at the airport and Rusty turns the volume down to the normal level. Sharon looks at the clock and sees that they made it just on time. As if to prove that point, she hears her phone buzz in her purse. "Rusty, could you check my phone for me please?"

"Sure." Rusty pulls her phone out of her purse and reads the new text, "Mom, Ricky and I just met at baggage claim. Come pick us up on the south side of arrivals, door 23."

"Thanks. Text back: See you in a couple of minutes." Sharon makes her way around the airport and parks in front of door 23, seeing Ricky and Katie coming towards the car. She pops open the back and gets out of the car, helping her kids put their stuff in the back and then giving them a quick hug before getting back in the car.

As they make their way out of the airport, Ricky and Katie say, "Hey Mom, hey Rusty." And then Katie adds, "It's good to see you again. And Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Thanks Darling," Sharon adds and then smiles at her two kids through the mirror. "How were both of your flights?"

"Well, mine wasn't long. But there was a kid next to me that wouldn't stop talking to me. I don't think he took a breath the whole time we were up in the air; he was talking to me nonstop," Ricky says.

Sharon chuckles at him and says, "Well, at least it wasn't boring. And how was yours, Katie Bug?"

"My flight was nice. I was sitting next to an old couple that was flying to see their daughter and her family for Thanksgiving. They were really looking forward to it. Apparently they hadn't seen their daughter in years. We talked for a little bit on the way over. They were nice and it was cute to see two old people together, still so in love."

"Well, it definitely sounds like you had a lovely flight. That's sweet. I'm glad that they were able to visit their daughter. This holiday should always be spent with family."

"Yes, I agree," Katie says. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could drop off yours and Ricky's stuff at home. We'll stop by Vons after dropping your stuff off and get a couple of pies and then head over to Bill's."

"Sounds good! Lee is going to be there, right? I haven't seen him in forever, not since Zak's funeral."

"Yes, Lee is going to be there, along with his girlfriend. I can't wait to meet her. She seems interesting from what Bill has told me about her," Sharon says.

Ricky decides to finally add in to the conversation, "Wait, Lee, the one that pulled the Halloween prank on me Katie's sophomore year? That's Bill's son?"

"Yes, it is," Sharon says and chuckles. "I totally forgot about that. We'll have to let Lee tell that story to Rusty today. He tells it perfectly, ha!" Sharon then turns to Rusty. "Katie and Ricky actually grew up with Bill's sons Lee and Zak. Lee is two years older than Katie and Zak was three years older than Ricky if I remember correctly. After high school, Zak and Lee both joined the air force but Zak died a year later in a flight accident." As Sharon finishes explaining their back story, she pulls into the parking garage and turns off the car.

As Rusty gets out of the car he says, "Wow, I didn't realize you had known them for that long. What happened to their mom?"

Sharon helps carry Katie's luggage into the building and says, "After Zak died, Bill and his wife had a falling out and they ended up getting a divorce. He hasn't been with her in years."

Sharon pulls out her keys to the apartment and opens the door, letting all of them in. They drop off their stuff, Ricky putting his in Rusty's bedroom and Katie putting hers in her mom's bedroom. Then they head out to Vons to pick up a couple of pies.

As they reach Bill's apartment building, Sharon tells Rusty to send a quick text to Bill telling him that they are there. They park and make their way into the building, taking the elevator up to the eighth floor. Before Sharon has time to even knock, Bill quickly opens the door.

"Hello, my dear," Bill states and then gives her a soft kiss on the lips.

She smiles just as their lips part and says, "Hello Bill. And what a nice welcome that was."

"Anything to make you happy," Bill says sincerely. He then turns to Rusty, Ricky, and Katie. "Hi, you guys. How were your flights home, Ricky and Katie?"

"Oh, they were good. Ricky got stuck next to a talkative kid, too funny." At this, Katie bumps Ricky teasingly in the shoulder. "Anyway, where are Lee and his girlfriend?" Katie asks.

"Oh, they're in the kitchen," Bill says to Katie. And then he says to Sharon, "Let me take those pies from you and put them away for now. Does your football team have the Thanksgiving game today?"

As the kids make their way into the kitchen to say hi, Sharon smiles and says, "Yes, the Green Bay Packers have the Thanksgiving game today."

Bill takes the pies from Sharon's hands and says, "Well then, why don't you turn it on?"

Sharon smiles at him happily and puts her purse down on the end table by the couch. She then picks up the TV remote and turns the game on, happy to see that they are winning.

Back in the kitchen, Lee and his girlfriend are finishing up the green bean casserole when Katie, Ricky, and Rusty walk in. Katie is the first one to speak, "Hi Lee! It's been a long time."

Lee turns around and says, "Katie!" He then walks over and hugs her. "It really has been a long time." He then introduces Katie to his girlfriend. "Katie, this is my girlfriend, Kara. Kara, this is an old friend that I grew up, she's also Sharon's daughter. And they are Ricky and Rusty, Katie's brothers."

Kara shakes hands with all three of them and then says, "It's nice to meet you all. Lee has told me all about you. But I thought Sharon only had two kids?"

Rusty decides to speak up as this. "She does only have two real kids. I'm Sharon's foster son."

Ricky then adds, "But he's part of the family, so we all think of him as a younger brother."

"Oh, that's so nice," Kara says. "How long have you lived with Sharon?"

"I've lived with her for a little over two years."

"Oh okay, that's really nice of her. From what Lee has told me, Sharon seems wonderful."

At the mention of her name, Sharon comes walking into the kitchen and introduces herself to Kara. "Hi Kara, it's nice to meet you. I'm Sharon." Bill follows Sharon into the kitchen and lays the pies on the counter. He then slips the green bean casserole into the oven.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the name. Lee has told me all about you."

"I hope all good things," Sharon says and then looks teasingly at Lee.

"Of course," Lee says and then chuckles.

Bill interrupts their conversation and says, "Food will be done in about forty-five minutes, so why don't we move out to the living room and talk so Sharon can also keep an eye on her football team?" He catches Sharon's eyes and sees her smile at him.

They move out to the living room and sit down on the two couches. Ricky and Lee pull up two dining room chairs since there is not enough room for them all to sit on the couches. Just as they sit down, the Packers score a touchdown which ends with Sharon screaming in joy.

Katie turns to Lee and says, "So, how did you and Kara meet?"

"Well, Kara is also in the air force. She is the best pilot that I've ever flown with. That's how we met; we were partnered to fly together."

"Oh, that's really cool," Katie says.

"How long have you guys all known each other?" Kara asks Ricky.

"Well, we actually kind of grew up with each other. Lee and Zak were a couple years older than me and Katie but Bill has been our family doctor since we were young. They went to the same schools as us except a couple years ahead of us but our paths still intersected. We hung out together for years. One of the best memories I have is when Lee pranked me on Halloween."

Rusty overhears this and adds in, "Oh, Sharon told me to ask you about that, Lee. She said that you tell that story the best."

Lee chuckles and then says, "So, it started when Ricky tried to set me up with a cheerleader that he knew I liked a week before Halloween. He slipped a piece of paper in her school locker asking her out as me and wrote my phone number on it. I received a call from her and then I figured out that it was Ricky who set me up. And then I decided to prank him on Halloween. I had the cheerleader knock on his door and kiss him and say, 'Trick or treat. I absolutely love you. You are the cutest boy ever.' He absolutely hated me afterwards for a couple weeks, but then he got over it." Lee laughs at the memory just as the timer goes off for the food.

"Alright, sounds like dinner is done. Sharon, why don't you help me bring the food out and the kids can set the table," Bill says.

They all get up from their seats and get dinner on the table. Just as they are sitting down to eat, Bill leads them in saying grace. Everyone starts serving themselves except Bill and Sharon. Sharon takes Bill's hand in hers and says softly, "I'm thankful for you."

Bill smiles and says, "I'm thankful for you as well." He leans over and kisses her on the lips.

As they eat, they all compliment Bill on the delicious turkey. Once they finish eating, they pick up the dishes and sit back down at the table, all of them waiting to eat some pie until they are less stuffed. Sharon looks over at the TV to check the score on the Packers game and sees that they are winning with thirty seconds left in the game. She yells with excitement when the clock ticks down to zero. They have won the game!

As the day wears on, conversation is ongoing and they finally eat their pie, all having a wonderful time.

**Hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it! For all of our readers who celebrate Thanksgiving, hope you have a great Thanksgiving! **

The evening rolls around and Sharon and her three kids leave to go back home. As all of the kids say goodbye, Bill pulls Sharon off to the side and softly kisses her lips. As he pulls away from her, he quietly says, "It's a good thing our families get along, or else we would have some really unhappy children considering they wouldn't stop me from marrying you."

Sharon smiles and says, "I agree." She places her hand on his chest as they pull away and then says seriously, "I have a question for you. We can talk about it more later but I want to ask you now. I am thinking about adopting Rusty and would like your opinion since we are engaged. I know he's an adult but I would like to legally become his mother. When he leaves home, I want him to know that he will always have a home with me, and with us. I want him to have the protection of legally having a family."

Bill smiles at her softly and says, "You are an astonishing woman, Sharon. I don't know how I got so lucky. I think it's a wonderful idea. I know Rusty will be lucky to have you as a mother. And I agree, I would want him to have the protection of legally having a family too."

"Thank you, Bill," Sharon says, and then leans forward once more to place another kiss on his lips. Even when she's wearing her heels, she still comes up short to Bill and has to reach up to kiss him. He's not as tall as Ricky, but still taller than her.

As Bill leads her back out to where the kids are talking, he reaches for her hand and tightly squeezes it. Stopping just before they reach the kids, Bill turns to her and quietly says, "I love you."

Sharon replies back, "I love you too."

They both turn back and meet their kids at the door. They all say goodbye for a final time tonight and then Sharon and her kids leave. As they reach the door to the parking garage, Ricky, Katie, and Rusty race to the passenger door of the car, all of them yelling, "Shotgun!"

Sharon stares at the back of all three of them as they race ahead of her to see who gets to the front seat first. She laughs loudly and calls after them, "Really you three? It's like you're teenagers!" It falls on deaf ears though as the three of them are still racing to see who gets there first. She can't help but smile, all three of them are acting exactly like siblings and that makes her so, so happy. They are all her children and she hopes that Rusty will agree to the adoption, so she can finally call him her son.

Once she reaches her side of the car and gets in, she sees that Katie has won the race and is riding shotgun. She looks over at her and sees a huge smile on her face and then looks in the mirror and sees dejected looks on both Ricky and Rusty's faces. She shakes her head with a smile and then buckles her seatbelt. As Sharon starts the car, Katie says, "I had a great time today. I really like Kara. She seems to be a really good match for Lee.

"Yes, I agree. It's interesting that they met in the air force. From the way it sounded, it seems that Kara is a really gutsy but amazing pilot," Sharon says as she looks in the mirror while she is backing up.

"So she is perfect for him!" Ricky says and chuckles. Katie reaches her arm into the back and swats Ricky on his leg.

"I had a great day too. It was nice hearing all the stories and learning all about how you guys knew each other," Rusty says, adding in to the conversation.

"Ah, yes. Those were good times….." Ricky says with an obnoxious smile on his face.

Sharon gives him a look through the mirror and says, "I don't want to know." As she drives them safely back home, she reflects on her life and all of the good that has come out of the bad. She glances at all three of her children and realizes, not for the first time, how happy they make her. She looks back at the road and says, "Is anyone wanting to do the Black Friday thing tomorrow?"

"Hell no, I'm not getting up ridiculously early on a vacation," Katie says, "Plus, I don't want to deal with all those people."

Sharon glances sideways at her daughter and says, "Katie, you know my rules about cuss words. But I'm glad you don't want to go, because I don't either."

"Mom, I'm 30 years old."

"Yes, but you are still my daughter, therefore you still have to follow my rules."

Katie rolls her eyes and then looks back at Ricky and Rusty, who are also rolling their eyes.

They finally reach Sharon's apartment complex and as Sharon parks the car she says, "Well, since we're not doing Black Friday, what do you kids want to do tomorrow?"

They all get out of the car and make their way towards the door to go into the building. Ricky finally says, "Well, we could just have a nice, relaxing family day tomorrow. We could stay away from all the chaos and just stay inside."

"That sounds nice, I would enjoy that," Sharon says. They reach the door and Sharon holds it open while her kids walk in. She then directs her next question at Katie and Rusty. "What do you two think about that?"

As they step into the elevator, Rusty replies, "Sounds good, Sharon." And then Katie pipes up and says, "Yeah, I would enjoy that too."

"Alright, then it's settled, one relaxing day for us tomorrow." She's so happy that all of her kids are here and it amazes her to see how far they've come with Rusty. They treat Rusty like a younger brother that they've always had. It's sweet to see them interact with each other, especially when they all act like young siblings. Rusty seems to be completely relaxed around them now and that makes her so, so happy. She is not worried at all about her decision to adopt Rusty.

The elevator reaches the eleventh floor and dings. As they make their way to the apartment, Sharon watches her kids quietly chatter to themselves. She smiles and pulls her keys out of her purse, smoothly inserting them into the lock and opening the door. She steps in first, setting her purse and keys on the side table and kicking off her high heels. She yawns and looks at the clock on the living room wall, it reads 10:40. _No wonder I'm tired._ She turns to look at her kids and says, "Well, I'm actually pretty tired so I'm going to head to bed. You guys can stay up if you'd like and watch a movie, I don't mind."

"I'm probably going to go to sleep too. Jet lag can make you feel tired early," Katie says as she too kicks off her shoes at the front door.

As Katie and Sharon walk over to Sharon's bedroom, Ricky says, "So, what do you want to do, little brother?"

"Want to watch a movie?" Rusty asks.

"Sure," Ricky adds, and they both walk over to the living room and Rusty sits down on the couch.

Ricky searches in the drawer for a good guy movie and finally pulls out _Ocean's Eleven_. He looks at Rusty and receives a nod of approval. He pops it into the DVD player and sits down on the couch beside Rusty, turning the TV on and pushing play.

Back in Sharon's bathroom, Katie hops in the shower as Sharon washes her face. As Katie steps out of the shower, she leans out of the bathroom door and looks into the bedroom, saying, "The water pressure is so much better here than it is in New York."

Sharon chuckles and says, "I wonder why." She's changed into a pair of pajamas and walks back in to the bathroom and brushes her teeth.

Katie walks into the bedroom, puts her pajamas on and brushes her hair. She then wraps her hair in the towel, steps back into her mom's bathroom and brushes her teeth.

Sharon slips into her side of the bed and slides her glasses back on, pulling the book that she has been reading off the nightstand and opening it up.

Katie unwraps her hair from the towel and hangs it up, sliding into the bed beside her mom. She turns onto her side facing her mom and says, "Did you have a good day today?"

Sharon closes her book, marking the page with her finger, and slips her glasses off, saying, "Yes, I had an absolutely wonderful day. It was nice to spend it with my entire family, present and future. Speaking of future family, I was wondering, what would you think if I adopted Rusty?"

"Honestly, I think it's a great idea, mom. You already treat him as a son and we already treat him as a brother. And I know how much he cares about you."

Sharon smiles and says, "I'm glad you think it's a good idea. I know how much you were opposed to him at the beginning."

"But I've learned so much more about him since then. He's a great kid, mom. And I know he'll be lucky to call you his mother."

"Thanks, Katie Bug." Sharon hugs Katie to her side like she used to do when her daughter was little.

"Hey mom?" Katie says.

"Yes?"

"I know it's a silly request since I'm 30 years old, but will you read to me? I miss when you used to do that for us when we were little."

"Sure," Sharon says and smiles softly. She slips her arm out from around Katie and slides her glasses back on her face. She then wraps her arm back around Katie. "Dragonfly in Amber, by Diana Gabaldon." She opens the book to where she left off and begins reading. "Chapter 36, Prestonpans. Scotland, September 1745. Four days' march found us on the crest of a hill near Calder. A sizable moor stretched out at the foot of the hill, but we set up camp within the shelter of the trees above. There were two small streams cutting through the moss-covered rock of the hillside, and the crisp weather of early fall made it seem much more like picnicking than a march to war. But it was the seventeenth of September, and if my sketchy knowledge of Jacobite history was correct, war it would be, in a matter of days. 'Tell it to me again, Sassenach,' Jamie had said, for the dozenth time, as we made our way along the winding trails and dirt roads." Sharon continues reading, narrating the story using different voices as she did when Katie was a child. As she reaches the end of the chapter, she can feel Katie falling asleep. She slides the bookmark in between the pages and sets the book down on the nightstand, turning the knob on the lamp to click it off. She slides her glasses off of her face and sets them down on top of the book.

As she settles back into the bed, she hears Katie whisper just before fully drifting off to sleep, "I'm thankful for you, mom."

A smile spreads across her face as she looks down at her daughter sleeping and hears the noise of _Ocean's Eleven_ coming from the living room. Her two sons must be awake and watching a movie together. She places a kiss on her daughter's forehead and whispers back, "I'm thankful for you too." She then gives in to the pull of sleep and is so very thankful for her kids.

**Hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Also, quick note, the book that I mentioned in here is property of Diana Gabaldon. **


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